The 9th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology (AOSFST) was held in Hefei, China from October 17 to 20. The Symposium, held every 2-3 years, is one of the highest level international conferences in the fire research field. This was its first time held in China Mainland during the past 20 years.

The 9th AOSFST aimed to present and discuss the latest research results and related technology development trend in Fire Science and Technology. The attendees of the symposium showed their newest researches by given presentations of papers in their field. The symposium also 14 invited lectures from the world's top fire science researchers. The plenary speech was given by Prof. John L. de Ris from the Factory Mutual Global, USA. In addition to the technical sessions, several social activities provided opportunities for participants to meet with other colleagues and friends from around the world. The four-day symposium was a good platform to share new ideas and recent research findings in fire science and technology.

Fig 1:Open Ceremony of 9th AOSFST/ SKLFS

Fig 2:Plenary speech of John L. de Ris from FM Global, USA/ SKLFS

On this symposium a Lifetime Contribution Award was instituted by Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Science and Technology (AOAFST), to recognize the persons who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Fire Science and Technology. Prof. Toshisuke Hirano, first chairman of AOAFST during 1992-1995, and Prof. FAN Weicheng, chairman of AOAFST during 1995-2000, were rewarded the first lifetime contribution Award of AOAFST in this symposium.

Participants from both China and abroad were impressed by the fabulous organization of the conference. "This is probably one the best conferences that I have attended," said by Bogdan Dlugogorski, Chairman of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). Many experts expressed their willing to cooperate or expand the collaboration with SKLFS.

Organized by AOAFST and hosted by the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS) at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), this symposium gathered over 200 scholars and postgraduates from about 20 countries and regions. The authors of the nearly 130 papers accepted for publication in the symposium proceedings covered nearly 28 countries and regions. Topics of the Symposium included fire physics and chemistry; fire and smoke modeling; human-fire interactions; fire statistics and risk assessment; fire safety design and code; structure response to fire; fire properties and testing methods of materials; suppression, detection, and smoke management; urban, WUI, and forest fires. Some special topics including fire investigation, fire reconstruction, fire service needs, transportation fires, and industrial fires are also covered.

This symposium is organized by the AOAFST which is under the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). It is the premier fire safety science meeting in the Asia-Oceania region and has been organized since 1992. The two most recent symposiums were held successfully in Hong Kong and Australia in 2007 and 2010 respectively.